After many years of study and experience running a family-based chiropractic practice, I have to admit that sometimes I still take for granted all of the learning I have accumulated over the years. After an active, nature-entrenched childhood, 20 years of competitive sports, and 20+ years in the chiropractic world – I readily admit that the biggest influence in the creation of our family’s health values has been my journey as a chiropractor, as my understanding of health, healing and the human potential has grown exponentially.
However, in becoming a parent, everything I believed was put to the test.
The pressure was on – as I felt that if I made poor choices as a parent, I could be running the risk of regretting the consequences on an exponential level. So while I learned a lot of theory in my years of schooling, my true education came after I crossed the stage and was faced with the many realities of life as a mother.
As a mom, I wanted to be a great one. I wanted to make all of the right decisions to allow this miracle of a human being, my baby, to thrive in every way possible. Would I have the guts to follow through with trusting the innate wisdom that I believed was inside of me – and inside of my babies?
Quite honestly, as an unproven entity, I didn’t truly know. But at each turn in the road, as a new decision was required, I found that my resolve became greater.
As a family, we based our choices on the foundational philosophies that our bodies are smart and heal themselves, that nature works best when we don’t interfere, and that our health, happiness and full expression is maximized when we give ourselves (and our bodies) what they need to thrive:
Love, rest, play, nutrients, movement, nature, connection, gratitude and a healthy brain-body connection – which is my focus as a family wellness chiropractor.
For us, this meant that we had the home births we had planned. We breast fed. We co-slept (although my sleep was minimal, I have to admit). We avoided all medications. We minimized chemicals in our home. We worked our schedules to have one of us home for the first few years with our kids. We made our own baby food. We had many successes and fails, but as the years went on, and we were faced with more and more of life’s general challenges, we found that we questioned our actions less and less as we watched our family thrive with great health.
From the place of always starting with WHY we make the choices we do – I realized that we have ingrained in our family a deep set of beliefs that are empowering. Our children know we make our meals from scratch – avoiding processed foods, sugars, and grains – because that is what our bodies are designed for. They know the effects junk food has on their bodies. They understand how important it is to move their bodies frequently, get fresh air and have good sleep. They understand that there can be ‘junk-thinking’ – and that it is equally as bad for them as junk food.
Our children know that their bodies are smart. They know that their thoughts are powerful. They know that they are competent, resourceful, unique people – and that the best gift they can give the world is for them to thrive with great health and self esteem, and ultimately to contribute to making this world a better place. This is what we mean when we say we are living our lives’ by design’.
Our family follows principles that are at the core of the lifestyle approach I teach in my practice. I have seen – and personally experienced – amazing improvements in health, performance, and happiness as a result. As a mom, I have greater peace of mind as a result . And for these reasons, I sincerely wish to pass these same foundational principles on to the people I care about in my practice and in my community.
I hope you will follow us along for this journey!
